Jinjuan She, assistant professor of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Miami University, recently received a grant from the ​​National Science Foundation (NSF) for research on team diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and engineering design.

The project “Research Initiation: Understanding Team Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Undergraduate Engineering Design Projects” is led by She, who is the Principal Investigator (PI). Two senior researchers will mentor She on social science research approaches, including Nazan Bautista, Condit Professor and Associate Dean of the College of Education, Health and Society (EHS), and Yue Li, Associate Director of the Discovery Center for Evaluation, Research, and Professional Learning. Additionally, about 10% of the budget will be allocated to consultancy fees for independent project evaluation by the Discovery Center led by Sara Woodruff. 

She’s design research focuses on the intersection of engineering design and psychology, with her interests including design theory and methodologies, human-product/technology interaction, consumer decision-making, sustainable design, and cognitive learning in engineering classes. 

The outcomes of this project are anticipated to provide valuable insights into the dynamics of collaborative engineering teams. This research will enable strategic integration of the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in creating more functional and effective engineering teams and will benefit future engineers’ success. In addition, it will foster interdisciplinary partnerships between researchers in engineering and those in the realms of social sciences and education.

The project looks into how different people and their equity practices work together in engineering design teams, as well as how diversity and equity affect how everyone can feel included when working on a design. This research is starting with undergraduate design teams as a focus and hopes to expand it to professional design team collaboration in the future. 

“We are increasing participation and mentoring of underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students, such as women, minorities, and first-generation students, and helping them engage in research activities,” She said.